1909 Regal 30

Published in the Tacoma Weekly
Wednesday, 2 January 2013

1909 Regal 30 (Photo By Steve Dunkelberger)

The Regal Motor Car Company of Detroit built automobiles from 1907 through 1914. The car maker was one of the pioneers in what was once a “cottage industry” filled with dozens of automotive builders that dotted the nation after the turn of the last century. Regal shipped its first 175 cars in 1908, but that launch was less than successful as many of the new car owners immediately began reporting engine troubles. In fact, the cars were so bad that the company recalled the entire line in 1908, marking the first automotive recall in history. This led to their motto “honest with itself, honest with its product, and honest in its dealings with its distributors and owners” as the company struggled to turn a profit while fixing cars it had already sold. Mechanical problems, however, were quickly corrected and more than 2,000 copies of the updated cars were shipped in 1909. The Regal in the LeMay collection was the 1,411th to come off the assembly line. And they proved reliable. A transcontinental journey of 4,031 miles was set by George Wilcox by driving the route in just 38 days. The same car repeated the trip five more times, accumulating more than 22,000 miles. The 1909 Regal Model 30 was a five-passenger car that was powered by a four-cylinder engine that produced just 30 horsepower, hence the name.

1909 Regal 30

Published in the Tacoma Weekly
Wednesday, 2 January 2013

1909 Regal 30 (Photo By Steve Dunkelberger)

The Regal Motor Car Company of Detroit built automobiles from 1907 through 1914. The car maker was one of the pioneers in what was once a “cottage industry” filled with dozens of automotive builders that dotted the nation after the turn of the last century. Regal shipped its first 175 cars in 1908, but that launch was less than successful as many of the new car owners immediately began reporting engine troubles. In fact, the cars were so bad that the company recalled the entire line in 1908, marking the first automotive recall in history. This led to their motto “honest with itself, honest with its product, and honest in its dealings with its distributors and owners” as the company struggled to turn a profit while fixing cars it had already sold. Mechanical problems, however, were quickly corrected and more than 2,000 copies of the updated cars were shipped in 1909. The Regal in the LeMay collection was the 1,411th to come off the assembly line. And they proved reliable. A transcontinental journey of 4,031 miles was set by George Wilcox by driving the route in just 38 days. The same car repeated the trip five more times, accumulating more than 22,000 miles. The 1909 Regal Model 30 was a five-passenger car that was powered by a four-cylinder engine that produced just 30 horsepower, hence the name.